CONTACT US

EXPERT HELP

SERVICE DELAYS: Due to the recent cancellation of the Ontario delivery system for libraries, transportation of items between Perth County libraries has been affected. Delivery will be delayed. We thank you for your patience.

A Brief History of Seven Killings

"A novel framed as a fictional oral history that explores the events and characters surrounding the attempted assassination of Bob Marley during the political turmoil on Jamaica in the late 1970s"--Provided by publisher.

From the critics

Community Activity

Comment

Fifty pages in and I had my doubts. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to acclimate to the various voices and styles that alternate throughout the book, but I'm glad I did. In the end, this narrative unfurls into a spiraling epic that tracks the rise and fall of some of the most interesting characters I've read in a long time. From Jamaican ghetto don to the world-weary journalist, James finds the most interesting aspect of each individual, and makes you care about them despite their obvious (and sometimes despicable) flaws.

So infectious is the writing, I've caught myself rolling the Jamaican patois around in my head over the last couple of days. It's a long read, but it's worth it. In the end, you'll come away with an understanding of the places, times, and individuals that shaped three decades of Jamaican and American life.

Like some other reviewers have stated, it is a challenging read. Personally, though, I prefer the challenge of having to orient myself to new characters, situations, times, etc. Keeps me on my toes and engaged. Savage at times and a look into a culture that is rich and complicated. Worth the effort.

It's been a few days since I finished this book, and the characters' voices are still rattling around in my head. I highly recommend it if you like character driven novels in which the plot takes a backseat. The people in this book affected me as a person.

How to keep track of who is talking? Decided to stop reading after 40 pages - too many other books to read instead of slogging through this one. Frustrating. Can't imagine why it won the Booker; perhaps readability wasn't one of the criteria.

Like the dialogue and the characters, the story is all over the place. It spans decades and places and subplots. Like much of this novel, if you stick with it, it mostly pays off in the end. I guess that's the briefest possible way I can sum up this novel: it's challenging, but it largely pays off if you persevere.

Not for the faint of heart, Marlon James's A Brief History of Seven Killings captures the contradictions and conflicts that formed Jamaica in the 1970's. Neither brief, nor limited to seven killings, the work encompasses the birth of a new culture at war with the decline of the existing regime. Rolling Stone reporters, CIA agents, Cuban terrorists, and brown-skinned girls from middle-class Jamaica all orbit the Singer, who is the presence that shapes them through his absence.
A Brief History can be a difficult read because of its multitude of characters, violence, and the complexity of its story. It is also funny, tragic, historically formed, and brilliantly written. Well worth the reading time.